The Search for Beautiful. Cosmetic Surgery & Skin Bleaching.
Cosmetic surgery is no longer just for white women. Now record numbers of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and Hispanics are lining up for a nip here, a tuck there. Are they chasing a Caucasian ideal of beauty? Or are they aiming for racial and ethnic ambiguity?


At left, Tamar Williams, 24, a bank teller, reduced the width of her nose and got a perkier tip. On her results, Williams said “I was always confident. But now I can show off my nose.� At right, Mei-Ling Hester, 43, a hairdresser, had excess fat removed from her eyelids, plus gets regular Botox injections into her forehead. On her naturally sharp nose, Hester said “I just got lucky, because if you look at my sister, she’s got a fl at nose.� (Photos by Tanit Sakakini)



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The Price of Skin Ligthning Creams.



South African woman disfigured by skin bleaching Chemicals. Ochronosis is the name given to skin damaged by skin lightning creams.





Twice a day, Kevin daly follows a bleaching regimen that includes steroid soap, a lightening shampoo, and two hydroquinone creams.
photos: Serene Ford


Fade to White: In May of 2001, veteran Ghanaian boxer Percy Oblitei Commey became the laughing stock of his country. The Ghanaian fighter not only lost his belt in a national super-featherweight bout, but he was also shamed before a championship audience who watched his skin quite literally peel away. As reported in the Ghana News Agency, Oblitei Commey's opponent opened a cut on his right cheek that cornermen just couldn't close. Then his nostrils and his right ear tore open, leaving him bleeding profusely, only to be jeered by the hostile crowd. The reason his skin fell apart? He'd been bleaching it, a popular treatment in Ghana and other West African countries, to trade his dark appearance for a lighter one. Article from the From the Village Voice.

By Anupreeta Das | January 21, 2007

Boston.com News.

For almost a century, the women who have turned to cosmetic surgery to achieve beauty – or some Hollywood-meets-Madison Avenue version of it – were of all ages, shapes, and sizes but almost always of one hue: white. But now, when there seems to be nothing that a few thousand dollars can’t fix, women of color are clamoring in skyrocketing numbers to have their faces and bodies nipped, snipped, lifted, pulled, and tucked. This is a step forward, right? In the land of opportunity, we applaud when barriers break down and more people get to partake in the good life, as it were.

There are many explanations for the new willingness of minorities to go under the knife: their swelling numbers and disposable income, the popularization of cosmetic surgery and its growing acceptance as a normal beauty routine, and its relative affordability. What’s significant are the procedures minorities are choosing. More often than not, they’re electing to surgically narrow the span of their nostrils and perk up their noses or suture their eyelids to create an extra fold. Or they’re sucking out the fat from buttocks and hips that, for their race or ethnicity, are typically plump. It all could lead to one presumption: These women are making themselves look more white – or at least less ethnic. For more on this story, check out the Boston Globe boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/.../the_search_for_beautiful

Black is Beautiful. Just look at the sister below. I can't understand why some Black-Women would want to change and bleach their skins when they have perfect and smooth skin like the sister below.


Side by side comparison. Which woman has the better skin complexion?

Both the women in the picture above are beautiful - black and white. I don't agree that they should be compared in this way as they aredifferent.

They both appear to have clear skin, which to my understanding is good complexion.

You seem to be asking people to choose which colour is better.

VK answer simple the African-Caribbean one. Don't know how it is possible to be culturally nuetral in matters of bueaty. They are not equal.

Actually FredB & Jhem, the question should be which one has the the better skin complexion. Many [notall]of our people think having white skin or lighter complexion is better. But looking atthe side by side comparison of the two women, for me personally I will take the sister and sistersanytimeover the white lady/ladies. Some sisters who have nice skin like Mrs Trinidad are not happy with their complexion and they would want to ruin it by bleaching it. Next time I find a woman who bleaches, I will tell her to go and look up the word Ochronosis.

Ochronosis is the name given to the damage caused by skin lightning cream. Ochre- means the yellow green pigment that forms in the deeper layers of the skin. This happens only with the use of bleaching creams which contains a chemical substance called Hydroquinone. Unfortunately this causes permanent and irreversible damage-no matter what is applied to thereafter. When Women apply these creams to their face, the skin is bleached and appear lighter than the rest of the body. Then with being in the sun, the skin becomes Darker Black, Velvety and Patches appear on the face and neck. It takes about 3-4 years of using these creams before very bad results occur. Women often seek the help of their doctors or chemist for help and they often prescribe Cortisone to dampen down the inflammations (swelling & redness). But creams such as cortisone unfortunately causes more harm. Pimples develop, redness of the face, stretch marks, hairiness and bleedinfg under the skin develop.

VK. A story. Before christmas the wife and I went to our Tesco supermarket to do our shopping. While we were walking around I saw the wife staring at something but paid no mine. Until she told me did I see a Nigerian couple who were both bleached out. I didn't believe a Nigerian man would entertain that shit.

So we went down the other isle so we would bump into them and lo and behold my brother I was speechless. Both young and trendy and good looking people in their mid twenties and both had that Panda look with a big light circle in the middle of their faces and as my wife quickly pointed out look at the complexions of their hands. What was so shocking they had a little baby in a push chair and as wifey said they will bleach the baby as well and she has known continental Africans to do this because if mummy and daddy are bleaching they can't leave the child looking the colour god gave it.

Sick brother. Sick to the core. Mental illness.

FB. It is indeed disgraceful. Now record numbers of Black people, particularly African-Americans are moving on to plastic surgery to make their,face andnoses smaller or modify it and this trend is becoming popular. A man who bleaches his skin is indeed a fool and needs his mind checked up.

Imagine the case of the Ghanaian boxer Percy Oblitei Commeywho bleached his skin, only to get in the ringto find out that his nose and ear were tearingapart from the punches from his opponent. A cutabove his eye would not seal up instead it got bigger and bigger while his opponent kept the punches up on him and poor Oblitei's face was tearing up with ear and nose ready to fall off because the skin bleaching made the skin so soft.If this guy Obliteihad some brains left inside his head, he would have known that as a boxer one would haveto stay away from bleaching, particularly being a Professional Boxer. That is why they say reading is fundamental. Sometimes it is good to pick upany Journal be it Medical, History, Archeology, Physics, Political Science or any and just read, you might gain something. That is why when I go to my hair barber I pick up the Business Magazines, Boating or any other magazine that is not Booty or Women related which is usually nothing but pictures of half naked women. My barber offered me the special booty magazines they keep behind the counter and I say no thanks, I will just check Black Enterprise Magazine because I am getting something or ideas out of it.

I really don't know who these people are fooling because their babies will still come out looking dark as them, unless they bleached the baby, but sooner or later Ochronosis will catch up with the baby because that is what happens when one bleaches on a long term basis. I have known African-American and African women who I thought were not using but when I check their other brothers and sisters, they look different then them, complexion wise.

Sis. I have lived and interacted with Nigerians all my life. My mother is one of the few Caribbean women who ever looked after Nigerian, Igbo children back in the day. The father begged my mother to look after his kids because he was so impressed with her and how she raised her kids and ran her home similar to one of his own.

Taught Nigerian students all my life. I can tell a Nigerian a mile off simply how they speak English or their own mother tongue.

VK Never knew about the Ghanian boxer but mad it is so sick it is sad. God made us one of the most bueatiful specicies of people in all our colours and shades. I was reading the post about Sudenese in Austrailia and how the whites werer saying how striking and bueatiful they are. I have another quote where a French man in Fanon talking about the Senegalese saying they are the most attractive and physically striking people he had ever seen.

Another DVD documentary I have where this French man was in the Sudan and saw this sister resulting in the famous statute the Venus of Sudan. He saw her once and could not sleep for years and said he had never seen such a striking example of human femininity, jet black and skin like silk.

Ten years later he raised money and went back to the Sudan and traced down this sister taking years because its a damn massive place and asked her to pose for this bust.

That is how bueatiful we are. Blessed by god in her majesty.

This brainwashing job which has been done to us in every part of the African world has to be underdone and overturned as the first step for us to grasping our genius, uniqunesss and power.

No compromising issue in my books.

Well this has been going on for quite some time now...and is likely to continue...

True. true FredB. African people are just beautiful in their natural state and we should leave it just like that. The only think that should change is the clothes that we put on our bodies. It is kind of sad that we don't see the beauty in ourselves, but sometimes it takes White people to point that to us. The whites have indeed done a good job of brainwashing our people because the beauty they see is shaped by the white media. When I was in Sudan, I use to see nuff white men come marry women there and some don't want to leave and I used to wonder why they come all the way there often coming to work for Non Governmental Organizations from theirCountriesbut their aim is to go for black women. Sick people, dem whites. But the bleaching saga is also a problem in the Caribbeansand I read somewhere that inJamaica some men and women have taken up on the practice on a massive scale. I guess in Every Black Country be it Africa or the Caribbeans, you would always find brain-washed people.

@Dark Prince.Why don't you tell us how it is in the Gambia and the Senegal where you are from. I hope our Governments set in place concrete rules that would punish the vendors who push these chemicals/creams. Is it also a problem in Scandinavia with the Africans there?